🦵 A curved leg 🦵 Legs curve outward

bowleg

8.4

Having legs that curve outward at the knees so the knees are far apart when standing with feet together

adjective
/ˈboʊˌlɛg/

: pierna arqueada

Look at that bowleg stance!

Examples

After years of riding horses, he developed a slight bowleg.
Doctors recommended braces to correct her bowleg during early childhood.
The child's bowleg was noticeable when he stood with his feet together.
The child has a noticeable bowleg condition.
The doctor explained that his bowleg would benefit from corrective exercises.
Many children often grow out of their bowleg as they age.
She noticed that his bowleg made it difficult for him to fit comfortably in certain chairs.

Synonyms

bowlegged

vsbowleg

3 6.8

Having legs that curve outward at the knees so the knees are apart when the feet are together

is the same meaning but is a different word form

bandy

vsbowleg

Archaic

3 8.1

Having legs that curve outward at the knees when standing

is the same meaning but uses a different base word

bow-legged

vsbowleg

2 6.6

Legs that curve outward at the knees and leave a space between them when the feet are together

is the same idea but written without a hyphen

bandy-legged

vsbowleg

Archaic

1 8.6

Legs that curve outward at the knees and look like a bow

is the same sense but phrased as a hyphenated compound

Surface Forms

bowleg positive

Morphology

bowleg = bow + leg (transparent) = bow + leg

The adjective is a literal compound formed from 'bow' (curved) + 'leg' (limb), so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Bowleg is simply the parts bow + leg, where bow originally means a 'curved' shape or 'a curved weapon' like the bow for shooting arrows. So a bowleg as an adjective describes someone 'having legs that curve outward', because the legs look a little like a bow bent outwards.